Outlaw Hunter
by Writers of Compass
Summary: Welcome to the world of Erinn, a place where humans, elves, and giants alike all live together in harmony, working to rid their world of malevolent creatures called Fomors. Jaiden Azakai, a merchant boy born in Bangor with the dream of following in his father's footsteps and creating a Guild great enough to protect all of Uladh. Outlaw Hunters. Can this guild protect Erinn?
1. Chapter 1

**Kyu: **Hello! This is just a short introduction. I'm one of the two _Writers of Compass _that is presenting this story to you. I've been a member on Mabinogi for two years and a member of Compass for one which I thoroughly enjoy being a part of.

**Vindi: **I'm Vindi! I'm the other member of _Writers of Compass_ and we're proud to present this story to you. We worked extremely hard on this one and hope everyone outside of our guild will enjoy this story.

**Disclaimer: **Neither of us own **Mabinogi**, we're simply players. **Mabinogi **and all mentioned NPCs belong to **Nexon**.

**Outlaw Hunters: Chapter 1 – The New Frontier**

_Clank! Clank! Clank! Clank!_

"Hi Seumas!" he waved down to the middle aged man who spent most of his days swinging his pick axe at the solid rock that covered the ancient dragon that was buried just outside of their town.

The middle aged man looked up whole wiping the sweat from his brow to see the hound teen standing on the bridge at the top of the ditch, "Ah, Jaiden, on your way home already from school?"

"School let out early today because our teacher was suddenly called to the town officer," the young teen replied. "Made any progress with the dragon?"

"I make a little progress every day," Seumas smiled and went back to swinging his pick axe.

"I'll bring something by tomorrow afternoon from Dunbarton," Jaiden waved and heard Seumas grunt in agreement. Jaiden put his hands back into the pockets of his jacket and continued to walk towards the entrance of his town.

"I'm telling you, I saw her!" Jaiden could hear some Millentian that were setting up camp outside of town talk now as he got closer to the entrance.

His town was popular with blacksmith looking for only the best material within Uladh since the trip to Vales was long and expensive.

"There's no way you saw Nao," one of the other Millentian tossed his bag to the ground as he began to help the other set up a tent. "There's only a select few that get to see Nao and those are the people who get greeted by her in the Soul Stream. Seeing her outside of it is rare unless you obtained one of her stones."

"I did," the first Millentian claimed. "She's really beautiful! Long black hair and everything."

"You're definitely wrong," Jaiden mumbled to himself as he walked by. He passed by several other groups of Millentian who were setting up camp for the night outside the entrance to his town.

Bangor, the mining town, was basically a haven for all blacksmith across Erinn. Every day was like this with dozens of Millentian camping outside since Bangor's inn was much too small for that many people. People usually came for the materials inside the Barri Mines but they also came to meet the famous Edern.

Edern is by far the best blacksmith within Uladh, he was definitely better than the blacksmith in Tir Chonaill. Edern was well known for his weapons and item enhancements so people often came to him so they could get their gear upgraded. Every day, there would be a line outside of Edern's shop and the line never disappeared until their closing time which was never the same since Edern always wants to work until he can't work anymore.

"Thank you, come again," Edern's granddaughter waved to one of their customers as he walked away adjusting his armor. Once she stopped waving, she noticed Jaiden coming down the hill, "Jaiden! Welcome home!"

"Thank you," Jaiden smiled and waved as he continued to come down the hill. He saw Comgan was outside accepting the occasional donation from Millentian headed back outside the town to their camps. They would do this everyday since they believed Neamhain would continue to bless them during their travels and protect them from the Fomors.

Comgan had just handed a Millentian a case of holy water when he noticed Jaiden walk up and place his offering as well, "Ah Jaiden, you're home early today."

"Arawen-sensei was called to the town office so she ended classes early," Jaiden responded and gladly accepted the free holy water Comgan gave him every week.

"Thank you," Jaiden gladly accepted his weekly gift and put them carefully into his bag.

"You're graduating from Arawen's school aren't you?" Comgan questioned and saw Jaiden nod. "Sounds exciting; do you know how you're going to celebrate?"

"I'll probably start out by taking a trading trip to Belvast," Jaiden put his bag back on his back and smiled. "I've always wanted to visit Belvast and I think it'd be a suitable trip before I start my journey as a Millentian."

"Your father was a merchant wasn't he?" Comgan asked and saw Jaiden nod. "Following in his footsteps?"

"Somewhat," Jaiden scratched his cheek and smiled. "He was a Millentian first before he decided to settle here and become a merchant with my mother who was also a Millentian."

"I never got the chance to meet your parents," Comgan thought for a moment and saw Jaiden nod. "I'm sure they were great people."

"They were," Jaiden had a sad smile on his face but it didn't stay long as he shook his head and gave him a genuine smile. "Thank you again for the holy water, it'll come in handy for when I leave."

"Don't forget to come back home every now and then alright?" Comgam saw Jaiden nod as he headed across the way towards the bank and general shop.

"Welcome home Jaiden," Bryce managed to notice Jaiden walk around back towards the stairs that lead up to the housing behind the bank.

"Ibbie is by the entrance," Jaiden saw Bryce snap out of his confused daze just before he thanked Jaiden and darted for the entrance to their town. Jaiden chuckled as he shook his head and walked up to his door.

He unlocked the door and walked inside to the dimly lit room that wasn't too small nor too big. He put his bag down by the door and flicked on the light to look at the home he'd been in all his life, and the home he was preparing to leave in just a few days. He pulled off his jacket and hung it up by the door before yawning loudly and stretching until he heard that satisfactory pop in his back.

He walked into his small kitchen and reached into his fridge to pull out the food that Jennifer would always leave for him so that he wouldn't starve himself that night. He wasn't the best cook in the world and Jennifer found out about two years ago when he almost burned down all the housing by accident. Ever since then, Jennifer wouldn't let him cook and would always leave food for him in his fridge that was always freshly made.

He felt that it was still warm so he gladly walked over to his small dining table, unwrapped his meal, and began to eat in silence. He was used to the silence now since he'd been eating by himself for several years now but then he still longed to be surrounded by family. Sure, he met plenty of people when he went commercing during the summer but once fall settled in and the market turned to produce, he would stay in Bangor to focus on training.

"I leave the day after tomorrow…" Jaiden spoke quietly to himself as he stared at a picture on the wall directly across from him. "After I trade to Belvast, where should I go?"

He sat there quietly as if waiting for an answer but he simply chuckled to himself and rubbed his head, "I really do need to get out. I'm talking to myself again."

Jaiden finished the rest of his meal in silence before he began his afternoon routine. He usually started with push-ups and sit-ups along with pull-ups before going out and heading towards Port Ceann to do some solo training. It was quiet there so he could always focus but there was the occasional person who would go there to collect shells or fish.

Port Ceann had shut down a few years ago after a trading ship had been lost at sea after being attacked by a notorious band of bandits and when people heard of the incident, they stopped traveling the Ceann route.

It seems as if in the last few years bandits have been increasing in number and stealing from caravans on a weekly basis so trade was decreasing and that was affecting the market. Nowadays, it seemed like most Millentian had to become traveling merchants to help keep the markets stable to avoid problems for the lower classes.

**Two Days Later**

"Be careful out there Jaiden," Digo warned as he always did as he helped strap down the last of the goods Jaiden had picked up to trade. "Are you sure you don't want to wait for another party to come through so you can join them?"

"I'll be fine on my own Digo," Jaiden sat the reigns of the two horses and wrapped them firmly around his wrist. "I'm officially on my own now, a Millentian."

"It's just kind of hard to believe," Digo rubbed the back of his head. "I remember when you first joined your mother and father on a commercing trip. You were so little and had no idea what you were doing when watching your father pay Ducats to trade goods."

Jaiden laughed in embarrassment, "I was only five, what else did you expect? I'm seventeen now, I understand it now and with this load, if I can make it to Tara, I should make double what I just paid."

"Tara?" Digo went pale. "I don't think you should be going to Tara, you've heard of the bandit raids haven't you? They're getting worse.."

"I'm sure I can handle it," Jaiden pat his side so that Digo saw his two swords. "I'm pretty good at dual-wielding and I handle a lance pretty well, there's no need to worry about me Digo."

Digo looked at Jaiden for a long while before he sighed and rubbed his forehead, "Send a messenger owl when you get there so we know you're safe, okay?"

"Sure," Jaiden smiled and snapped the reins. He watched the horses begin to walk and he looked at Digo, "Thank you for taking care of me up until now! I'll be back!"

"You better come back in one piece Azakai!" Digo shouted.

Jaiden flashed his usual grin before snapping the reins again to make the horses move faster. He bypassed the many Millentian camping outside and ignored the mumbling they did as they noticed that he was trading alone.

"Is he insane? Does he want Herbert to catch him?"

"Forget Herbert, what about Charlene?"

"Don't forget Shackleton, he may be small but he's terrifying."

Jaiden ignored their mumbling and continued onward towards Dunbarton, Uladh's number one trading center. It was always packed with traveling merchants selling their own personal products and was the base for their economy but due to the sudden increase in bandits and their attacks, Dunbarton was starting to become more and more vacant with each passing day.

The trip to Tara would be a long one and Jaiden knew this. Probably the hardest part would be traveling through Sen Mag Plains which was basically a haven for bandits, at least that's the most recent rumor. Sen Mag Plains was barren and barely anyone travels through there in order to avoid the place.

He sighed heavily as his horses went along the road towards Sen Mag Plains and with not much to admire, he simply thought about the ever expanding world he had just entered as a amateur. He knew he was going to meet dozens of other young Millentian like him and that thought alone got him excited.

He wanted to be able to join a group of people who were strong and brave enough to fight against the bandits running rampant through Uladh but he knew that Millentian's now were too scared to even fight a pack of wolves so they would be useless against bandits. He wanted to meet people bold enough to fight against the bandit bosses that were taking over and stop them from destroying anything that was left over.

"Make a guild or join a guild…" Jaiden looked up at the passing blue sky as he thought aloud. He knew joining some existing guilds would be difficult since their requirements were nearly impossible to meet as a rookie. There were few guilds brave enough to fight the bandits but others were just formed to travel together when it was safe to travel.

"I think I'll make a guild," Jaiden smiled to himself at the thought of becoming a guild leader much like his father was. He had always been told that he had all the qualities a good leader had and Arawen would always praise him for that. He nodded to himself, "I'll definitely make a guild that'll defend normal humans and Millentians against bandits."

Having said it a second time, he was definitely going to make his own guild. He knew that most guilds didn't form until there was at least five people involved so meeting people willing to join him in his fight was probably going to be the hard part. He sighed as he thought about the different people he would fight and wondered how strong some of them were. The most common class people associated with was the Warrior or Knight class when it came to combat while normal humans went ahead and began Carpenters, Cooks, Apothecaries, basic constructive type classes to help support those in combat.

"Alchemists are rare from what Arawen-sensei said," Jaiden mumbled as he rubbed his chin. "Having a Battle Alchemist would be nice. Even a Mage and Fighter would be pretty neat too. What about a Cleric?" Jaiden continued to mumble. "If I get one person per class, that's a decent enough size isn't it?"

"Way to go!"

Jaiden looked up in time to see a grizzly bear be knocked onto it's back, dead, with a young girl standing at its feet who was breathing heavily and drenched in sweat as she stood shaking with the heavy sword in her hand.

"You did good Vindiara," the man with her rubbed her head and smiled at the young girl.

She was panting still when she looked up at him and smiled, "Thank you Father."

Jaiden saw his horses were slightly uneasy at the dead grizzly bear slightly in the road and he clicked his tongue to calm them down. He waited for a little bit until they calmed down and stopped walking which caused him to become slightly frustrated, "I didn't want you to stop?"

"Oh sorry," the girl's father walked over to the edge of the road and dragged the grizzly bear off the road with ease. "Pardon us, we were just hunting and I was helping my daughter with her fighting."

"It's fine," Jaiden smiled and looked at the girl who was attempting to fix her hair quickly enough as to impress him, at least that's what he was thinking in his head. He watched her finish fixing her hair but when she turned and made eye contact with him, she blushed slightly and turned her back to him entirely, "You're pretty strong, I'm sure you'll be a great Warrior one day."

"See, even he thinks so Vindi," the father noticed his daughter blush beet red and he chuckled. "You'll have to pardon her, she's shy."

"It's fine," Jaiden looked at his horses and saw they didn't seem as scared anymore and snapped the reins again. "I'll be heading off now, it was a pleasure speaking with you."

"You too," the father replied as he smiled and waved. "Be safe while trading, bandits are more and more active these days."

"Thank you for the warning," Jaiden called back before looking ahead and seeing the path through the woods that led into Sen Mag Plains. He'd only heard rumors about the place but he never traveled through it since they always warned students not to pass through Sen Mags to get to Emain. Both paths to Emain Macha from Dunbarton were both dangerous so only travelers brave enough to take the three hour trip through Sen Mag Plains would go.

Jaiden sighed heavily as he stretched and looked at the bareness of Sen Mags. He'd never been through the area but he heard about the aura it gave. He always thought people over exaggerated when they said it felt like your skin was crawling as you passed by the destroyed houses and craters that lined the road. People said that you could see the spirits of those who died in the tragedy still lingering around their houses. Others say that some of the souls are trapped in Peaca, the dungeon where all the survivors were locked away and left to die.

Even though it was still early in the afternoon and the sun was still high, Sen Mags had an eerie darkness about it as the grey clouds hung overhead and let only a few rays of sunshine come through the clouds. He looked towards the sky as his horses kept walking along the road, "Jaiden Azakai, the guild leader of…"

Stealer Killers, Protectors of Peace, and Hunters. These three names were the only names that used to fight off the bandits before they became too powerful. Stealer Killers protected Belvast from the pirate bandits and were successful with their mass numbers. Protects of Peace were the largest of the three since they were in charge of the trade that happened within Iria. They had so many numbers that at one point, their main location used to be nicknamed Peace City but after the bandits teamed up with the Fomors, it turned into Metus.

Hunters. Hunters was the guild Jaiden's father previously led that protected Uladh. He always admired his father when he was a guild leader, he never showed how scared he was in order to keep those around him confident. They fought against bandits without hesitation and never lost because they knew the true meaning of teamwork.

"Hunters Reborn?" Jaiden thought out loud but then shook his head. He wanted to use the name of his father's old guild in the new one he was creating but he didn't want it to be too obvious. He was sure that the name "Hunters" would spread like wildfire and just adding "Reborn" to the name would instill a new hope into the citizens of Uladh but once they found out it was just a bunch of rookie Millentians with a dream, they wouldn't be supported like the original Hunters were.

"I'll think of something eventually," Jaiden shrugged and kept his horses moving forward. He knew he had a little ways left to go until he made it to Emain Macha but he wasn't in a rush. He wanted to enjoy the scenery, once he saw some, of the new world he was a part of. He wasn't sure what he would do once he got to Emain Macha and he wasn't entirely sure if he would even stop. He knew Emain Macha was basically a haven for up and coming Bards since Nele was one of the few Grandmaster Bards in Uladh. Bard was more for performance nowadays rather than assisting Millentian in their journeys and helping them get a sudden increase in an aspect of their physical strengths while they played their instruments.

The latest thing nowadays though seemed to be new students being interested in puppetry. The Grandmaster Puppeteer Huw was finally opening up and teaching lessons to those who were willing to learn how to craft their own puppets and fight alongside them. Apparently puppetry required a lot more work than people originally thought so people dropped the class quickly but others stayed faithful to it and were still training underneath him now.

However, neither of these things interested him so he decided to only stop for a break once he arrived by the fountain, then venture onward towards Blago Prairie that would lead him towards Tara, capital of the Aliech Kingdom. Jaiden had never traveled to Tara but he knew it was the largest city and a place he'd never been.

"If I can make it through Blago, I should be able to make it to Tara just as it's sundown and find a hotel to stay in," Jaiden thought aloud as he pass by a vineyard and waved to the people gathering and replanting in their fields. He saw there was a worried look on the faces of the first family he passed but by the time he came across the second house, they were out of sight.

"That's strange…" Jaiden thought to himself as he pass by the house that seemed to be locked up. He noticed his horses had slowed down and when they stopped completely, he looked around. He didn't see anything or hear anything abnormal, at least not at first.

The next few seconds happened too quickly as several bandits came out from hiding and quickly rushed Jaiden. He didn't have time to react to anything and before he knew it, a bag was pulled over his head and he was knocked out.

When he awoke the first thing he smelt was the dampness of the stone walls that surrounded him and the foul smell emanating off the cave's inhabitants. He shook his head and tried to ignore the throbbing pain right above his left temple but it was excruciating. His vision was blurred for a moment but once it cleared he saw his wrist were chained together and he was behind steel bars with an ogre holding a massive hammer down the hall.

"It looks like the show can begin now!"

Jaiden's eyes opened slowly to find himself in a room full of bandits dressed in their signature uniforms and his eyes widen at the sight in front of him. One of the bandits, the leader who was distinguishable by his clothing, was standing in front of Jaiden holding the father he'd run into early by his hair.

"Father!"

Jaiden's blood ran cold when he when he heard the familiar sound of the man's daughter, Vindiara, and felt her struggling to break free. The two of them were tied together to a wooden post but both could still see what was about to happen.

"Honestly, running around and slandering our name as bandits," the boss pulled out his own dagger and held it to the father's neck. "What kind of fools do you take us for if you think we're going to let you get away with that kind of crime. You do know, nowadays, slander is punishable by death old man."

"You bandits really are nothing but a group of lowlives! You steal from the innocent! You destroy towns! You kill the innocent!" the father shouted and yelled out in pain when he received a kick in the ribs.

"Father!" Jaiden knew the Vindiara was in tears now as he felt her struggle more against the ropes.

"You really are annoying," the boss stepped on the father's head and looked at Jaiden. "Now you, you're an interesting one. I mean, who trades in a party of one or if all anymore? I mean, how stupid do you have to be to travel alone with a wagon full of goods? You were basically asking us to steal from you, right boys?"

"Right!" his subordinates smirked in agreement.

"Now, I don't think I'll kill you because from the looks of it, you're still a rookie," the boss pointed the tip of his dagger at Jaiden. "However, if I catch you commercing by yourself again, killing you will be just as easy as me doing this."

Jaiden and Vindiara watched in horror as the bandit lifted the father by his hair and ran the blade across the neck without flinching.

"Father!" she screamed at the top of her lungs as she tried to get free. "Father! Father wake up! Father!"

"Now then," the boss took a handkerchief from one of his men and slid his dagger back into its holster. "I'm going to let the two of you go and once you leave here, never let me see you in my territory again, okay?"

"You bastard!" she screamed.

He sighed, "Someone shut her up already, please!"

"Gladly!"

All the bandits in the room turned at the unfamiliar voice and were knocked back by a strong gust of wind that knocked them into the four walls of the room. Jaiden and Vindiara both looked away from the powerful gust and once it subsided, they both turned to see two teenagers standing side by side.

"It turns out you were right after all," the teen with silver hair and light cyan eyes said with a heavy sigh as he unsheathed both his swords and went into a fighting stance.

"I told you Skeith," the girl followed his example.

"You're better off standing back, you're useless anyway, Sheba" he said before running at the bandits coming for the two of them. With ease, he was able to counter and defend himself while wielding his two swords against the bandits that attempted to attack.

"Shush." she responded.

Both Jaiden and Vindiara felt the ropes drop from around them and they both looked at each other in confusion as to how the robes came undone. However, after being freed, their rescuer appeared out of thin air with his spiky golden hair and pointy ears defining him.

"An Elf?" Jaiden saw the Elven teen look at him.

"I am an Elf. My name is Divine. I'm a Battle Alchemist in training at the moment," the teen smiled before loading his cylinder and hitting several bandits with a strong burst of flames.

"A Battle Alchemist Elf?" Jaiden watched the Elf and Human teen battle against the bandits that were in the room before he was pulled out of his fascination by the girl named Sheba shouting for the two of them to follow her out.

With slight hesitation, Jaiden made a break for the door but was halfway across the room when he saw Sheba go pale and try to run. He turned in time to see an ogre had entered the room and was now holding his hammer above the head of Vindiara.

"Look out!" she screamed.

Vindiara looked up and her eyes widen in horror at the sight of the spiked face of the hammer that was above her. She was already frozen in place in horror and couldn't bring herself to move. Just as it was beginning to be brought down, she closed her eyes and moved her arms above her hoping it would stop it.

When she didn't feel herself become crushed in the next two seconds, she looked up and saw Jaiden holding the hammer up above the two of them using his back.

"Are you crazy?" Vindiara shouted at him as she saw the painful grimace on his face.

"Are you okay?" he asked through a strained voice as he struggled to hold the hammer up against the ogre.

"Huh?" she looked at him in disbelief.

"I asked," Jaiden buckled for a second but still kept the hammer up, "are you okay?"

"How can you worry about me when you're the one in trouble?" she shouted at him in annoyance but her voice cracked as tears filled her eyes. "Why are you even protecting me?"

"Because," Jaiden started to push upwards against the hammer, "when someone needs protecting against a bandit, I'm going to be there to help!"

"Look out!" the bandit boss shouted to the ogre but it was already too late. The ogre was blasted into a wall by Divine's water cannon.

The white haired teen caught Jaiden as he fell and lay him down flat on his stomach, "This looks pretty bad. Sheba, I need you to cover us for a minute. I'm going to try and heal him enough so he can walk since I won't have time to fully heal him. Divine you help."

"Sure," Divine stood up with Sheba and they looked around constantly at the fallen bandits and at the ones struggling to get back on their feet.

"Are you okay?" Skeith looked at Vindiara as his hands began to glow a faint blue color. He put them over Jaiden's back and saw him cringe, "It's okay, just stay still."

"Don't worry about me, just make sure he's okay!" Vindiara watched Jaiden cringe in pain for a few moments before he seem to relax.

"He'll be fine," Skeith watched his wounds begin to close slowly and once most of them were closed and Jaiden was pushing himself back onto his feet, he pulled his hands away. "I'll heal the rest of your wounds later, we just need you to be able to move enough so we can get out."

"Thank you," Jaiden stood up and it was clear he was still struggling slightly. He looked at Vindiara and saw her stand up, "You're okay."

"What kind of idiot are you?" she shouted.

"Skeith!" Sheba shouted.

Skeith turned in time to see the bandit boss was running at the three of them with a sword in hand. He quickly stood to his feet and countered by grabbing the sword out of his hand and piercing it through his chest.

The bandit looked down at his sword that was now piercing him through his chest and looked at the five teens in front of him, "Damn you outlaw hunters...we thought we got rid of all of you."

The five of them stood in silence as they watched the bandit fall onto the ground cold.

"Outlaw hunters…" Jaiden echoed the bandit.

"What were you doing commercing by yourself you idiot?" Skeith turned and looked at Jaiden.

"Outlaw Hunters," Jaiden lit up at the name. "That's what I'll name it!"

**To Be Continued**


	2. Chapter 2

**Vindi: **I made Kyu post this chapter early because I worked really hard on it! So please enjoy! Commentary is greatly appreciated!

**Disclaimer: **Neither of us own **Mabinogi,** we are simply players. **Mabinogi **is owned by **Nexon**.

**Outlaw Hunters: Chapter 2 – Banding Together **

Together, the five of them exited the bandit hideout to find themselves on a secluded mountain pass that was probably a few miles away from the Blago Prairie main road. Skeith suggested they go ahead and try to get back to the main road and towards Tara before attempting to make any stops. Sheba explained it was more of a precaution because they did just clear out what she called a "Rookie Bandit Hideout" and it was possible that more bandits would head that way.

Slowly, they made their way towards Jaiden's original destination of Tara. They were unable to find the horses and goods Jaiden had with him originally which meant that they were possibly being transported somewhere bigger than the hideout they were just in. It didn't take them too long to reach the South Gate of Tara and once they were inside the safety of the walls, they stopped and healed the rest of Jaiden's wounds.

"We should eat something," Divine suggested as he heard his stomach begin to growl.

"There's a restaurant not too far from here that's inexpensive," Sheba suggested. "We can eat there and then stay in the inn down the street."

"I don't think I'll be able to afford it," Jaiden pat his pockets and sighed heavily. "Yeah, they took everything from me, even the swords I bought right before I started."

"Don't worry," Skeith put his hands in his pockets. "I'll pay for everything tonight. You'll just have to pay me back when you can."

"If you say so," Jaiden rubbed the back of his head and looked at Vindiara who had been silent the entire walk to the South Gate. He noticed she had been sniffling the entire time and saw how she trembled from time to time but he didn't say much to her.

"Let's go to the restaurant," Sheba ordered and marched ahead of them. "This way towards food!"

"Sheba, you're being embarrassing," Divine laughed as he scratched his cheek and followed behind her with Skeith.

"She's always embarrassing," Skeith sighed. "Come on you two, you'll get lost easily in this place if you don't know where you're going."

"We're coming," Jaiden put a hand on Vindiara's shoulder and saw her look up at him with sad eyes, eyes similar to the ones he had when he lost his parents. "Come on Vindiara, let's go, okay?"

She stared at him for a moment and nodded, "Okay…"

Jaiden moved his hand off her shoulder and walked alongside of her behind the three new people that came to his rescue. He didn't say much to any of them on the way there and didn't say much when they were sitting at dinner together at a dimly lit restaurant.

"Vindiara," Jaiden looked at her, "how are you feeling?"

Vindiara shrugged and looked at him, "I'm fine...I guess. I'm more concerned about you; you took a lot of damage from holding up that hammer."

He smiled and put a hand on her shoulder, "Don't worry about me. Protecting people is what I've always wanted to do. I don't regret saving you one bit." He was too busy smiling at her to notice Vindiara turn her blushing face away from him in order to hide.

"You practically flew towards the ogre! You were breathing so heavy!" Sheba exclaimed as she punched Jaiden's shoulder. "Your face was so serious when you saw Vindiara in trouble! Your face was like-" she mimicked the determined look on his face and grunted, "HUHUHUHUHUHUH!"

Everyone else looked at her with blank stares before they all started dying of laughter at the table. They ignored the stares from the other patrons within the facility that seemed annoyed with their loud laughter but it couldn't be helped, they were laughing too hard.

Jaiden wiped the tears from his eyes as they all recovered from the laughing fit caused by Sheba. Once he was sure he was done laughing, he looked at each of them and nodded, "I know now might not be the best time, but I'd like to explain something."

They all looked at Jaiden in confusion.

"I started my journey as a Milletian not only because it's my, let's see," Jaiden thought for a moment and snapped his fingers, "I guess I could say 'destiny.' I started this journey because I also wanted to make a guild that fought against the bandits who are running amuck all across Erinn and protect its inhabitants from these bandits."

"Is that why you randomly said 'Outlaw Hunters' after I killed that rookie bandit boss?" Skeith questioned and saw Jaiden nod.

"It's the name I'd like to give to the guild," Jaiden explained. "You're all welcome to join. Not many people are brave enough to fight against bandits and according to what you said, they were just rookies and not that difficult to fight against. I also really appreciate the three of you coming to mine and Vindiara's rescue; we both would've been dead if you hadn't shown up."

Skeith slowly nodded as he listened to Jaiden and stroked his chin, "It's true that there's barely anyone left to fight. I'm in. No doubt about it."

Divine shrugged, "It could be interesting. I'm in as well."

Sheba smiled and saluted, "Count me in!"

Vindiara stayed silent and looked up at everyone sitting at the table, rubbing her arm shyly as they all gradually turned to her.

"What about you, Vindiara? Are you with us?" Jaiden asked, with a hopeful look in his eyes as he smiled. She shook her head, looking down.

"I can't...my mother is waiting for me at home and has no idea about anything that's happened; someone's gotta tell her," she took a moment to breathe so she didn't get choked up with tears.

Jaiden nodded and pat her on the back. "I completely understand," he tilted her chin up in order to make her look into his eyes, "but just to make sure you get back safely, we'll come along with you, okay?"

Vindiara's cheeks turned a rose-colored red as she smiled and nodded, "Sounds like a plan to me."

**The Next Morning**

"Everyone ready?" Jaiden overlooked his new group of friends to make sure that they were all good to go. They were all being social and talking to one another. They all stood with their things over their backs, so he assumed that they were ready to go. He looked over at Vindiara, who was sheathing what he believed to be a Knight Lance.

"Where'd you get that?" he asked. She jumped a little, having been caught completely off guard.

"Oh, this? This was my dad's, I managed to salvage it out of the hideout as we were leaving." She smiled, looking down at it, "I want to be as strong as my dad some day."

Jaiden smiled, "I don't see why you couldn't be! You're practically holding the world in your hands. You can do anything you set your mind to."

She giggled shyly, and smiled back at him. "Yeah, I suppose you're right," She put the lance on her back and hopped to her feet. "Let's go, no time to lose!"

These words caught everyone's attention and they collectively left the inn.

**In Taillteann**

The group reached the gates of Taillteann in a few hours. The towering walls and guards were fairly intimidating. Jaiden cautiously walked past the guards on either side of the gate and into the city. Sheba followed close behind, but tracked back to look at the guards who were completely motionless in their armor. She approached one and poked his chest plate repeatedly without getting a reaction from him.

"Why do they have guards at all of the gates entering Tail?" she asked as she started making faces at the guard in an attempt to get him to react. Skeith sighed as he pulled her away from the guard by the wrist and led her away from him.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you Sheba; they get payed to stand there all day you know," he crossed his arms and walked with Divine and Sheba on either side of him. "They're there because military leaders from each race have a camp here, and they're here quite often so the gates need to be guarded for any kind of intruders. Being one of the two locations with a gate to the Shadow Realm, it's important that there's protection anyway."

"Sorry I ask," Sheba looked around and spotted some machines in the distance. "What the heck are those?"

Divine grinned, "Ah, yes...if you didn't already know this, this is the alchemy center of Uladh: Taillteann! Allow me to show you around this magnificent place created by our Goddess, Madam Morrighan." Everyone followed him up one of the hills as he ran towards the large house. He bowed towards an elderly woman who he called Dorren and he lit up when she held out a pouch for him.

"What're all these machines for?" Jaiden looked over them in curiosity.

Divine snapped out of crying over his freshly stocked crystal supply and smiled, happy that he would be able to answer, "Well, they're all used for different things. Things like Mana Crystallization, Fragmentation, Synthesizing, basic alchemy stuff. Most alchemists find it easier to make their own crystals; that's the Mana Crystallization. And then Fragmentation and Synthesizing is more of the breaking down and building of materials that anyone can use basically. Oh, and they're called Steam Ovens and Dry Ovens by the way."

"Hmm. The more you know," Skeith walked up to a small boy who stood near Dorren who was dressed in what looked like alchemist robes. Skeith knelt down and whispered into his ear, shoving a pouch of coins into his hand. The boy grinned and took the money, and placed a basic cylinder in Skeith's hand in return.

After he had done this, Skeith stood up and turned around to find the group staring at him. "What?" he asked. "You never know, I could become an alchemist one day. Maybe even as good as Divine at some point," Skeith narrowed his eyes at Divine after hearing him chuckle faintly.

"Well, that's enough of the scenic route for one day," Jaiden continued down the hill, and the rest soon followed.

"Woah, is that the giant's camp over there?" Sheba looked over in the distance.

"Looks like it, everything's huge," Vindiara smiled. "I've never seen a giant before now that I think about it."

Skeith muttered to himself beneath his breath, "Giants are disgusting..."

"Alright guys, we still have plenty of daylight ahead of us so our next stop should be the logging camp,"Jaiden continued to lead the group before his arm was pulled at eagerly by Vindiara.

"Come on Jaiden, we have to hurry! My dad's childhood friend Tracy owns that camp!" She jumped up and down and and grabbed his hand, pulling him lightly. He smiled at the sight of her being excited and let her lead him towards the western gate of Taillteann.

**The Logging Camp**

They reached the logging camp just as the sun sat on the horizon, carefully avoiding the bears in the woods around them. None of the bears ever bothered to enter the camp since they seemed to not like conflict. The main pathways were used often to get from Tir Chonaill to Dunbarton so the bears stayed in the forest off to the side. In the center of the area, where all of the logging went on, stood a large tree surrounded by small huts and many men at work chopping away and building.

Under the tree was a tall, goofy-looking man shouting at some of the lazier workers while he kept an axe on his shoulder. Once Vindiara caught sight of him, she took off running towards him.

"That must be Tracy," Jaiden said as he watched her drop her stuff and run to him. Both Jaiden and Sheba picked up her stuff and carried it for her.

"It's a shame she doesn't wanna stick around with us, she's fun to be with," Sheba frowned.

"I agree. But even if she did, would she be able to handle being away from home all the time and fighting bandits? After all, she is younger than the rest of us," Skeith shrugged.

"She has a strong spirit, and plenty of potential to be stronger than she already is. I like having her around too, but it's ultimately her decision," Jaiden found himself grinning as he said this, and quickly shook it off before anyone could notice.

The group began to listen in to Tracy and Vindiara's conversation as they approached them. "Wow, that's terrible…" Tracy looked over at the group as they walked up. "Did these guys accompany you all the way back here?" She nodded and looked up at Jaiden, taking her stuff back from him.

"Thanks for bringing it over here, you two," Vindiara chuckled. "I got a little anxious to see Tracy."

"No problem!" Sheba smiled and nudged Jaiden to say something, since he was just blankly staring at her.

"...-Oh, sure thing. It's no big deal," He scratched the back of his head and cleared his throat.

"Well Tracy, if you wouldn't mind, I'd like you to help me pay my condolences to my father up on the Spiral Hill," Vindiara held her hands behind her back and rocked back and forth between her toes and heels.

Tracy smiled, "With pleasure, little lady. Are the rest of you tagging along?" He looked among the rest of the group, and they all agreed in no time at all. Tracy picked up his axe and held it on his shoulder, and with Tracy and Vindiara taking the lead, they traveled towards to the hill.

"So, why did you pick this spot to-" Divine was stopped mid-sentence once he discovered the reason why. Upon reaching the top, a tree stood towards the top of the hill. Vindiara held her hand over an engraving on the tree that was in the shape of the heart that held two sets of initials. She fell to her knees as she clenched her fist over the engraving and attempted to fight back her tears.

Tracy walked up to her and put his hand on her shoulder, "Does your mother know yet?" She bit her lip and shook her head, silently beginning to cry. Sheba ran towards her and dropped down next to Vindiara and wrapped her arms around her to comfort her. "It'll be okay, I promise."

"I wouldn't be saying that just yet," said a gruesome, unfamiliar voice. Everyone quickly turned around and discovered a hoard of bandits had followed them up to the top of Spiral Hill. In front was an Ogre, and judging by his clothes, a bandit boss. "You're the little twerp whose father we killed not a day ago," he cackled, spit flying out of his mouth as he turned his gaze over to Vindiara while she stood up to face him.

Vindiara grit her teeth as she looked back at him, clenching her fists. "And you're the group of bandits we slaughtered back in Taillteann," she said, picking up her father's lance. "If we did it once, we can do it again."

Jaiden grinned, slowly unsheathing his blades. He looked among his group to find that they were all preparing for a battle.

The Ogre laughed into the early night sky, holding what looked like a two-handed sword, but carried it with one hand with ease, "What're you waiting for, outlaws? They won't die just standing here!" His henchmen all yelled and ran forwards to attack.

"Divine, front and center! Use Flame Burst!" Skeith yelled. Divine ran in front of his group, and released a powerful burst of flames around half of the bandits that charged to attack. Other bandits went around the flames while the rest were burnt to a crisp.

"God, really? That smell does NOT make fighting these monsters any easier!" Sheba stayed by Vindiara's side, but not for long as she charged forward with her lance, piercing a bandit goblin straight through the torso. "Agh, gross!" Vindiara swung her lance around to fling the dead bandit off of her lance, and knocking over two in the process.

Skeith stabbed the ones Vindiara knocked over just as they touched the ground. Divine's flame burst had ran out, and the burnt bandits charged towards Jaiden and himself. Divine hit several bandits with one burst of water one at a time while Jaiden smashed one after another.

Tracy decapacitated bandits with his two axes as they tried to approach him and Sheba. The Ogre turned and watched his forces become defeated one after another, and he roared, taking a sudden interest to Jaiden. "Hey, he's the idiot who tried commercing alone! This is all his doing!" The ogre walked through the carnage to approach Jaiden.

Vindiara took notice to this quickly, struggling to pick up her lance. With all of her strength, she ran towards the Ogre boss. The Ogre approached Jaiden as he was killing off another bandit. "I'll end you if it's the last thing that I do!" The ogre held up his gigantic sword, and swung down at Jaiden before he could get away.

"NO!" Vindiara sprinted in just in time to block his attack with her lance. She grunted, holding the lance up at her head. Jaiden had dropped to the ground to avoid being sliced by the ogre's blade, and he looked up at her with wide eyes, "What are you doing?! You're trying to get yourself killed!" Tracy ran towards Vindiara and the ogre and stood close behind her.

"No, I'm saving your life like you saved mine!" Vindiara began to break a sweat, unsure of how much longer she could hold up his sword.

The bandit boss roared with anger. "You little twerp, get out of my way!" Vindiara pushed him and his sword back.

"The name's Vindi, you sack!" she dropped her lance and grabbed one of Tracy's axes, and flung it diagonally into the ogre's face. The ogre was taken back, falling over and growling with pain. Vindi quickly grabbed Tracy's second axe, and walked up to the ogre.

She breathed heavily; sweat dripping down her forehead as she said "Don't mess with my friends _ever_ again." She lifted up the axe and chopped his head off before falling unconscious to the ground.

**Tir Chonaill**

"Do you think she'll be alright?" Jaiden sat at Vindi's bedside, holding her hand.

"She'll be fine, but she needs to drink plenty of water once she wakes up," Nora, the innkeeper had taken in the group for the night. "I need to go find her mother and tell her she's okay, she's been concerned about her for days. Can you watch her while I'm gone?"

Jaiden nodded, "Of course." Nora smiled and picked up a small purse.

"Alright, then I'm off. I'll be back soon," She left the inn, and just a few minutes afterwards, Vindi began to stir, trying to sit up.

"Where am I?" her head fell back and onto her pillow, and turned to see Jaiden. "Are you okay?"

"Why did you risk your life to save mine? That was way too dangerous of you. Your body gave out and you fainted," Jaiden squeezed her hand and looked in her eyes. "You goob, don't ever do that again."

Vindi smiled, and blushed once she realized he was holding her hand. "I was just doing what you did for me. But I won't do it again, I promise."

"Good," Jaiden turned towards the door as it flew open, and Vindi's mother flew into the room and next to her bed, followed by Nora.

"Oh, my poor baby...What happened to her, where's her father?" her mother looked down at Vindi, who didn't have enough energy to speak.

"Vindi and her father were captured by bandits, and he was killed in the process. My friends and I were able to get her out," Jaiden stood and got out of the way so she could get closer to Vindi.

"I can never thank you enough," she ran her fingers through Vindi's hair and picked her up. "But it's time for me to take her home, she needs rest." Jaiden nodded in agreement and held the door open for her.

"Goodbye, Vindi. Until next time," Jaiden waved at her and smiled as Vindi picked up her and to wave back. He then went upstairs to sleep for the remainder of the night.

**The Next Morning**

It was an hour until noon before anyone woke up, still exhausted from the previous night's battle. Sheba gathered her stuff and walked downstairs to find Jaiden sitting in the lobby. "Where's Vindi?" She looked around the room hopelessly.

"She's gone, she's with her mother. She isn't going with us remember?" There was a look of sadness on his face as he said this, and Sheba pat him on the head.

"Ah, that's right...I'm going to miss her," she sat down next to him and watched the rest of the gang slowly emerge from their rooms.

"Me too," Jaiden stood and picked up his things, and opened the door. "Alright guys; I think our next step is to go to Dunbarton and make the guild."

"Sounds like a plan," Skeith yawned with a vaguely angered face. "I hate waking up."

"Oh, shut up Skeith. Although, you've never been a morning person," Divine was up and wide awake, as if he'd been awake for hours.

"Any-who," Jaiden interrupted, "let's get going, we're burning daylight." He walked out the door and the group followed silently.

Jaiden led them over a bridge by the fields of Tir, before stopping suddenly. "Wait, don't we need 5 people to form a guild?"

"Ah, shit, you're right," Skeith sighed. "I can get one of my buddies to join if it's necessary."

"Don't you dare fill up my spot!" said a familiar voice from behind them. They all turned around and found Vindi running towards them with a huge smile on her face. "I'm coming with you!"

Jaiden took in a deep breath in relief that she showed up. Sheba ran up to her and hugged her, jumping up and down and laughing.

Vindi laughed with her, and smiled at Sheba and the rest of the group. "I'm gonna be a Millentian!"

**To Be Continued…**


	3. Chapter 3

**Kyu: **There was a major delay on this one, but it's finally here.

**Vindi: **Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **We don't own **Mabinogi**, we're simply players. **Mabinogi **is owned by **Nexon**.

**Outlaw Hunters: Chapter 3 – Fashionogi Problems**

"Oh?" Skeith raised an eyebrow at Vindiara's declaration of joining the world of Milletians. "Are you sure you want to become a Milletian and no longer be classified as a Human?"

"Huh?" Vindiara looked at Skeith in confused and saw Sheba punch Skeith in the shoulder.

"Stop scaring her!" Sheba whined and watched Skeith give her a death glare. She simply returned to glare and she smiled shortly after when he gave up and looked back at Vindiara.

"I apologize. What I mean is, unlike Humans, Milletians have the ability to be revived. We can't really die until we give the blessing back to Nao. Giving the blessing back is just simply called retiring but very few return until they've been Milletians for decades, sometimes even centuries," Skeith explained.

"Centuries?" Vindiara watched each of them nod. "Why would someone want to stay alive that long?"

"Some say they have a purpose that they can't fulfil in their original life so they wait until the next one," Skeith shrugged. "Sometimes people wait several lifetimes before they feel like they've done what they needed to do, most of the time however, they stay Milletians for a really long time."

"How do you become a Milletian then if you aren't born as one?" Vindiara questioned and saw them look at her with concerned looks. "What?"

"You haven't learned that yet?" Jaiden sounded slightly worried. "It's basics in school."

"No," Vindi saw everyone shake their head. "What is it?"

"Nevermind," Skeith looked at Jaiden. "Do you have the one million gold it takes to make a guild?"

"What?" Jaiden blinked and looked at Skeith in confusion.

"Huh?" Divine scratched his cheek. "You didn't think it'd be free to make a guild did you? Prices are especially high since only idiots make guilds and once they find out our purpose, they're _really _going to think we're idiots."

"I barely have a thousand gold," Jaiden hung his head. "How are we supposed to earn one million gold?"

"Buy and sell," Sheba, Skeith, and Divine spoke in unison.

"Buy and sell what?" Vindiara questioned.

"Have you ever been on a dungeon run?" Skeith questioned and saw both Jaiden and Vindiara shake their heads. He sighed and rubbed his forehead, "Well, there's a first time for everything."

He started looking around. "There should be a dungeon around here for us to go through and get something worth a few million."

"Why not Alby Dungeon?" Sheba suggested. "It does have that really rare robe."

"Oh right, let's do that." Skeith replied, giving off a small smirk.

"Let's go then!" Vindiara shouted enthusiastically as she marched ahead of their group. "Alby Dungeon is this way. I used to go by and visit Trefor since my mother would bring him lunch every day."

"Lead the way then," Divine smiled and followed behind her with everyone. "Have you ever been inside the dungeon itself?"

"No," Vindiara shook her head. "My parents told Trefor to never let me inside of a dungeon until I officially became a Milletian."

"You're still not officially a Milletian though; do you think he'll let you in?" Divine questioned.

"Possibly since I'm with you," Vindiara looked at each of them. "I mean, all of you are Milletians so it's okay."

"Actually…" Skeith said, "Maybe you should become a Milletian before we go in."

"Okay!" Vindiara smiled and rubbed her hands together. "How do I start?"

"Well, allow me to explain, since you haven't been educated on this yet," Jaiden said, and stepped forward. "You can become a Milletian in one of two ways. One is to die in battle, and you will wake up to the Soul Stream without any assistance. The other way, however, is the way we're going to do it. With the help of Milletians, you'll be sent into the Soul Stream consciously and you'll tell Nao the path you've chosen to take. Are you sure you want to do this? You have to be a Milletian for ten years before you can retire."

Vindiara nodded and smiled shyly. "Positive."

Jaiden returned a smile. "Alright, let's get started then."

Vindiara sat down as Skeith and Jaiden put a hand on each of her shoulders, and began to chant a prayer.

Vindiara went into a daze, and saw a bright light in the distance. She began hearing strange noises. The light grew brighter, and something came out from that direction. It appeared to be a person…they were hard to make out. Was it the guardian of the soul stream? She couldn't make out who or what it was, because she woke up soon after.

"God damn it, Jaiden, you weren't supposed to take your hand off her shoulder," he sighed and face palmed.

Jaiden cleared his throat and shrugged, trying to play it off. "My bad," he said.

Skeith unnoticeably grit his teeth. "I guess we can just go in then. It won't make that much of a difference."

Jaiden held out a hand to Vindiara and helped her stand back up. "Ready to go?"

She nodded. "Yep, let's go."

The group was led into the lobby of Alby Dungeon by Jaiden and Vindiara before turning their attention to a middle aged man sitting on the steps in front of the altar with a statue of the Goddess Morrighan kneeling with a sword in her hands.

"Vindiara?" a middle aged man named Trefor stood and his black armor shook as his helmet slid forward against his face. "I didn't think I'd see you today after the funeral."

"I'm actually headed out soon after we go through this dungeon," Vindiara smiled and looked at Skeith who stood next to her and pulled out a small fee for the dungeon pass. Trefor handed the right one to Skeith.

"You want to enter for Hebona Robes?" Trefor saw Skeith nod. "So the four of you are going in?"

"Five of us," Skeith corrected him and looked at Vindiara. "She's a Milletian now and she's entering with us."

"Oh," Trefor looked at Vindiara for a moment. "When did you become a Milletian?"

Vindiara nodded, "Dad helped me with the process not too long before he passed away."

"Well," Trefor scratched his chin. If you guys are working for some money, can you do a favor for me? I'll give you a reward in return." He showed a piece of paper to Jaiden. "A girl from Tara went in and has been inside for quite a while. I think she used this prayer to get in."

Jaiden scratched the back of his head and took the paper out of his hands. "Well, I don't see why not!"

"Just make sure she's safe," he let out a small huff. "I'll give you ten thousand if she's unscathed."

Jaiden gave him a wide smile, "Sure sounds like a deal to me."

"I bid you good luck then." Trefor stepped back, giving them a slight nod and stood by the entrance to the dungeon.

The Goddess statue stood tall in front of the group. "Mind if I see that sheet of paper?" Skeith looked in Jaiden's direction.

"Sure thing, man," Jaiden handed it to him.

"Alright, everyone on the altar." Skeith gestured towards the slightly risen surface, and everyone progressively stepped on it. He narrowed his eyes at the paper, reading through it. "If this is what I think it is…" he muttered to himself. He stepped on the altar, turned to face the goddess statue and began reading the prayer out loud. "deíxe mou apelpisía sas , tylíxte mou se af̱tó. deíxe mou sti̱ fo̱liá sou , giatí eímai edó̱. deíxe mou an tolmáte , agapi̱tí̱ vasílissa aráchni̱." The room swirled around them as he finished the chant.

The statue that guarded them disappeared, changing positions, but it's mournful look resided. However, a new passage opened up, which was covered with spiderwebs.

"...Do all dungeons have spiderwebs sprawled over the walls?" Vindiara gave a nasty look at the spiders who resided in their webs.

"Not all of them." Jaiden hid a laugh from the face she was making.

Vindiara looked at Skeith with confusion as he handed her a pile of orange feathers, "What are these?"

"You've never seen phoenix feathers?" Skeith picked up a bundle and handed some to Sheba who placed them in her pouce. "You really do have a lot to learn."

"Phoenix feathers?" Vindiara stood up and dusted off her pants.

"It's the other method of being revived when you don't have any Soul Stones," Divine loaded his cylinder and looked at Sheba. "You'll be our support and heal this time so don't worry about fighting."

"Sure!" Sheba smiled and saluted to Divine and Skeith.

"What are you talking about? She's going to fight," Skeith glared at Divine. "Don't give her an easy ticket just because we have more people."

"Suck a lemon Skeith," Sheba sounded annoyed now.

"I'll suck your lemon," Skeith teased, giving off a mischievous grin.

Divine groaned in annoyance at their bickering as he walked away with Jaiden and Vindiara. "Dungeon excavates can vary on length. I think the three of us ran this once before," Divine pulled a notebook off his belt and flipped through it. "Alby, Alby, Alby..."

Vindiara saw the confused look on Divine's face, "What is it?"

"This would be classified as Advanced Alby, judging by the looks of it," Divine murmured. "Dungeons are like underground castles; multiple floors, multiple monsters, multiple difficulties."

"Oh, I see," She said, holding her hands behind her back as they entered the next room; the first few had been cleared.

Inside were wounded creatures, but were still alive. "What are these?" Vindiara looked around at them.

"They're larvae," Skeith stabbed one and put it out of its misery. "They contain cocoons that we need for making our chest keys at the end of the dungeon. But for some reason, these were all left wounded but not dead, as if someone gave up trying to kill them…"

"Maybe it was the girl we're looking for," Sheba suggested.

"Maybe. Let's hope all of the rooms were like this." Skeith and Divine killed the rest of the larvae and collected the cocoons, and moved on to the next room.

The following rooms and floors were either rooms with a small amount of enemies left, or doors with opened locks, as if someone had been there already. However the last few rooms of the third floor were infested with monsters, no sign of anyone else having gone through there.

Skeith narrowed his eyes at the change "Why are these untouched…" He muttered to himself.

Divine gave a small shrug in return "Maybe we passed her up?" he replied to the rhetorical question.

**Final Room**

"This should be her room." Divine muttered, holding the bright red key in his hand. He turned towards the rest "Everyone ready?" He asked, hoping for a yes.

"Who's room?" Jaiden asked, looking over the rest. "The girl we're looking for?" He added on, wondering why she'd have a room in a dungeon…

"No, Arachne, the owner of this particular place." Sheba replied, "A Fomor thats one of the greatest weavers, her cloth sells for millions." She added on, steepling her fingers together at the small thought of money.

"Oh… Great! So two birds with one stone." Jaiden replied, giving off his signature grin.

"_If_ she has made any." Skeith chipped in "A lot of adventurers come and seek her cloth for themselves due to its magical properties." He explained, taking the key from Divine's hand. "So she may of been stolen from recently, and hasn't recovered." He added on, putting the key within its lock and turning it.

The giant metal lock fell from its chains and onto the floor with a loud clang, letting the stone door slide open. Inside, a decrepit old woman sat at her weaving wheel, before looking up and letting out a loud screech. Spiders crawled out from cracks in the walls , forming a barrier between her and the hunters.

"She doesn't like being stolen from." Skeith replied, drawing out one of his swords.

"She's MINE!" A female voice called out, before weaving in between the group and straight to the witch. With shield posed first and dark armor scraping against each other, she smashed through a small section of the spider wall and slammed into the witch.

The small warrior's sword swung in to strike, but Arachne swatted her away, the air crackling around her. Getting right back up, she tried to go in again. Spiders swarmed around her legs, forcing her to her knees.

And that is when the witch struck. A crack of lightning went through the Warrior, and towards the group, hitting both Vindi and Divine straight through the hearts. Vindi fell over while Divine managed to stay on his feet. "Was that-" he asked, before the answer quickly came after. 

The warrior got back up and started to run to the group before disaster struck true. Three

bolts of lightning rained down from the heavens, charring their bodies and stopping their hearts on the third strike.

**Soul Stream**

Vindiara opened her eyes slowly and she was standing in a vast world covered completely in white as she stood on one of the many platforms that she could see. She looked around in dismay and confusion.

"Welcome to the Soul Stream Vindiara."

Vindiara turned and widened her eyes at who was standing in front of her. She'd only heard stories about her and seen drawings but she wasn't entirely sure if she was real, "Nao?"

Nao giggled and smiled, "I am Nao, Guardian of the Soul Steam. I take it that you've heard of me?"

Vindiara simply nodded and gapped.

"Since it's your first time here in the Soul Stream," Nao began, "I should begin by asking you the basic question I ask everyone who enters here."

"What?" Vindiara looked up at her with slight confusion.

"Do you wish to continue living or do you wish to stay here?" Nao questioned.

"What?" Vindiara raised an eyebrow.

Nao giggled at her confusion. "I'll do the honor of explaining what I mean by my question. When I ask if you wish to continue living, I'm asking if you'd like to become a Milletian."

"Of course!" Vindiara responded enthusiastically.

"Let me explain the role of a Milletian first," Nao looked over her shoulder and up at the many platforms above her. "Being a Milletian means that you'll serve the people of Erinn as a medium between humans and the Goddesses. You'll fight against Cichol who is the God that governs the Fomorians."

"Hmm," Vindiara continued to listen to Nao.

"The benefits of being a Milletian is being able to be revived after you die," Nao explained.

"Oh," Vindiara sighed in relief.

Nao shook her head, "Milletians never truly die unless they decide to retire as Milletians. Once a Milletian retires, they're capable of joining me here in the Soul Stream to spend the rest of eternity."

Vindiara thought for a moment before looking at Nao again, "So after I leave here, I won't be able to be officially named 'dead' because I can be revived by you or someone else?"

Nao nodded.

"And I'll spend most of my life as a Milletian that serves as a medium between Humans and the Goddesses?" Vindiara watched Nao nod again. Vindiara smiled broadly, "I can do that."

"I'm happy to hear that," Nao walked over to Vindiara and took her hand. "We're going to need you in this new battle coming up, you and the Outlaw Hunters."

"Huh?" Vindiara watched Nao wave her hand over her own and watched several stones appear in her hand. "What are these?"

"Soul Stones," Nao responded. "You can offer these to me once you come back into the Soul Stream and I'll revive you while providing blessings to all your equipment and armor which will help it last longer."

"Oh, thank you," Vindiara felt herself begin to float and she looked at Nao. "You're sending me back?"

Nao nodded, "I'll see you soon."

**Back to Reality**

Vindiara woke up just in time to see Jaiden land the final blow on Arachne before she cried out in defeat and disappeared into thin air.

Sheba was sitting at her side as she gained consciousness. "You okay? Did you go to the Soul Stream?"

Vindiara nodded, sitting up and looking around the room. "Is everyone else okay?"

Sheba looked over at Divine who had also lost consciousness, but was revived by Skeith. "Yeah, they're fine."

Vindiara looked at the girl they stumbled upon. "What was she thinking?"

Sheba shrugged. "I dunno, but she's the one Trefor's looking for. We'll patch her up and bring her back unharmed."

Divine stood up and walked over to the abandoned weaving wheel. It was still spinning. "Can I have everyone's cocoons?"

Jaiden handed his over first, glancing into the treasure room which lied just ahead. "There's a total of eight chests, so we should only make two keys, considering the lost girl gets one as well."

"She got me killed...why don't we just make three and open her chest?" Divine narrowed his eyes at the girl who had just gotten up, and ignoring all of them, walked towards the treasure room.

The girl mumbled underneath her breath. "The motherfucker didn't tell me she had Thunder…"

"Well that'd be kinda mean, don't you think?" Vindiara gave him a half smile as she handed over her cocoons as well.

Divine gave a heavy sigh. "Very well." He took the cocoons in hand, and sat down on a stool by the wheel. He weaved two keys, and gave them both to Jaiden. "You can do the honors."

Jaiden smiled and nodded, gesturing towards him. "Why, thank you."

By the time Divine and Jaiden entered the chest room, everyone else had already made their way in. They all opened their chests with no sign of the Hebona robe. He looked around, holding his yarn keys. "Hmm…" He made his way to the corner of the room, and opened two chests right next to each other.

No Hebona. But, there was a decent amount of gold, which is all that was in the other chests. "Well...that's alright. With the money we all got from the money and the money Trefor will give us for returning the girl, we could sell the remaining cocoons to other Milletians and gather enough money to make a guild."

"Trefor is _paying _you to come back with me?!" The girl said with anger in her voice as she opened up her chest. She turned to look inside her chest, with a Hebona robe laying inside. She clutched it in her hand and fist-pumped it into the air victoriously. "Yesss! I finally got it!"

Skeith looked at Jaiden and sighed. "Damnit Azakai, you picked the wrong chests."

The girl turned to Skeith, confused. "How the fuck did you know my last name?"

Everyone in the group exchanged silent, astonished looks.

"My name's Zakan Azakai. Why were you ref-" She paused, and looked at Jaiden. "Fucking hell, I stepped into a soap opera."


End file.
